OUT-OF-HOURS surgical admissions to Louth County Hospital in Dundalk have been suspended by the Health Service Executive (HSE) following a row with junior doctors over staffing levels at the hospital.
The HSE suspended the service from 5pm on Friday evening last and patients requiring surgical admission after hours in the area must now go to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
The suspension of the service follows a dispute over the failure to fill two senior house officer (SHO) posts in the surgical department from July 1st. SHOs are a grade of junior doctor.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents junior doctors at the hospital, wrote to the HSE last week expressing concern that surgical registrars at the hospital – a higher grade of junior doctor to an SHO – were expected to do the work of the SHOs who were not being replaced and were having their rosters changed without consultation to facilitate this. It said it was unrealistic to demand that these registrars fill more than one role at any given time.
Furthermore the IMO’s letter stated: “These sweeping changes are purely down to a cost-saving initiative by the hospital and demonstrate a total disregard for both doctor and patient safety alike. Importantly, it is in breach of contract and as such these registrars cannot, and will not be forced into working these compulsory changes without prior consultation and agreement.
“The IMO offers its full support in dealing with this issue and will not stand by and let these changes be implemented.”
The HSE accused the registrars of engaging in industrial action when they failed to co-operate with the changes. It said that as a result of the industrial action by surgical registrars in the hospital surgical admissions were being suspended. The IMO stressed that there was no industrial action.
The IMO requested that the matter be referred to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The HSE said last night that the matter had been referred to the LRC.
The IMPACT trade union yesterday warned of ward closures at University College Hospital Galway. The warning came after a meeting with hospital management who, the union said, indicated that the cuts were needed to meet HSE spending restrictions.
The cutbacks include the closure of Merlin Park Hospital’s orthopaedic unit for two months.
In a statement, a hospital spokeswoman said scaling back of services took place every summer for a number of weeks.